Chitoria ulpi Doherty, 1889 – Tawny Emperor

Subspecies in India:

Chitoria ulpi ulpi – Indian Tawny Emperor

Early Stages:

Indian and global distribution:

records (based on images):

Larval Host Plants:

Identification:

Sexual, seasonal & individual variation:

Status, Habitat and Habits:

Recorded by Tshetsholo Naro from the North East Network compound on 14 June 2013 at 12:57hr at Chizami, Phek District in Nagaland. Seen sitting on human clothes. There have been no published records of this species from India in more than a hundred years, having been last reported from India in 1915 (Tytler 1915a). The subspecies florenciae, which is now synonymized with subspecies ulpi (ulupi), is legally protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Reported to be rare in the Naga Hills (Tytler 1911, 1915a). Tytler (1911) initially believed this to be a separate species from C. ulpi (ulupi), but later stated (Tytler 1915a) that it would turn out to be a race of the same species. The paper "Butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Chizami, Phek District, Nagaland, India" maybe downloaded here.